Thursday, September 11, 2014

Seven-foot Portland Trailblazers center Robin Lopez is an unabashed
fan of comic books and all its four-colored glory. “Color me a fan,” said Lopez
with unbridled glee.

The American basketball player is in Manila for the first ever
Gatorade NBA Training Center as well as some charity work for Yolanda victims
in Cebu with Portland teammate Wesley Matthews and former NBA champion and
Coach of the Year Avery Johnson.

During a break in the training camp for elite college athletes as
well as some pro hopefuls, Lopez took the time to engage in some geek talk.

“My older brothers, Alex and Chris, grew up reading Marvel and DC,”
revealed Robin. “Brook and I lean heavier to the DC side. But that doesn’t mean
we don’t read other titles. I do. There’s simply a lot out there.”

“I don’t think there is anything wrong with mature comics,” added
Lopez. “A lot of what passed for entertainment in the 1950s and 1960s was also
heavy and mature. I think as long as it is done the right way then it’s all
good. But I like the variety that is out there today for comic book fans. Even
for those with no knowledge about them – there are a lot of books that can
serve as jumping on points for them.”

In spite of the NBA grind, Lopez finds the time to indulge in what
has been a lifelong hobby. “Yeah, there’s down time between practices, film
viewing, team meetings, and games. I make sure to get a lot of rest and to
focus on the next game we’re playing. But I always find time to read. When
you’re a fan, you’re a fan! And my brother and I aren’t the only NBA players
who are comic geeks. There’s Kevin Garnett and LeBron James who are also fans.
I heard Tim Duncan is another fan too.”

The former Stanford Cardinal took some time to also name his five
favorite DC characters. “There’s a lot,” pointed out Lopez. “But naming them
would be easy. The Wally West Flash. I love what Mark Waid did for the
character – the Speed Force and the Return of Barry Allen storyline are to my
mind some of the best Flash stories.”

“I also like Impulse. Another speedster – can you tell I am a Flash
fan? (laughs). The Kyle Rayner Green Lantern. The Tim Drake Robin, and Cyclone
of the Justice Society of America. These are the characters I grew up reading.”

Of the new DC titles, Lopez is geeking out on Grant Morrison’s
“Multiversity,” a limited series from DC’s The New 52 universe that brings back
the multiple earths and universes that once populated DC’s line of comics.

“I am a huge Grant Morrison fan. And you can add being a fan of the
original multiverse to that so it’s a no-brainer that I am reading
‘Multiversity.’ Captain Carrot never looked so good, man!”

Speaking of books, he’s reading, Lopez said that he would recommend
the following to newbies to comic books: “Young Justice. I figure you gotta be
young to get into comics and to appreciate them. Young Justice is something
they could identify with. I’d also recommend Grant Morrison’s JLA storyline of
‘Rock of Ages’.The ‘Who is Donna Troy’ story
from Teen Titans it a short one but sweet. And I said this earlier, ‘The Return
of Barry Allen’ in the Flash. And if there’s a multiverse story that has to be
in there, it has to be ‘Crisis on Infinite Earths.’”

Come tip-off in late October, this will be Lopez’ seventh NBA
season. While he intends to play in the league for as long as he can, he also
hopes to make use of the connections and his popularity as a means to get into
comics.

“I have all these ideas in my head. I like coming up with concepts
while Brook is the one who writes them. We’re doing a little work now and it
would be cool to have them published one day. As a long time fan, that would
just be surreal. I hope people will like it though (laughs).”

Saturday, September 6, 2014

Araknid by writer Lawrence Mijares and artist Dodi
San Jose picks up from where Virgilio and Nestor Redondo left off with their
1970 komik, Gagamba Komiks Magazine.

In the Redondo brothers’ komiks, lead heroes Gagamba
and Scorpio, are a crime-fighting dynamic duo, a local version of Green Hornet
and Kato. In Mijares and San Jose’s modern version, it’s still set in the late
1960s but there’s a wild card thrown in. The crime fighters are in deep trouble
against sub-machine gun toting abbots when the mysterious Araknid saves their
lives.

Araknid is nothing like Marvel’s Spider-Man but
instead looks to be every bit like DC Comics’ Sandman. Not the Neil Gaiman
version but Wesley Dodds, the gas-mask wearing member of the Justice Society of
America, a noir comic book under the Vertigo imprint as written by Matt Wagner (Grendel)
and Steven T. Seagle and initially drawn by Guy Davis who set the tone for the
book.

This 32-page book has that same retro feel and it
isn’t just old Manila Times newspapers and references to Ferdinand Marcos that
make it seem that way. Dodi San Jose’s art is a terrific throwback. And being
someone who is into stories set in bygone eras, it was an easy sell for me to
pick Araknid up.

I have no idea if this is actually the first release
but if it is I wish Mijares took sometime to introduce the characters and
situation for a new audience. It’s like I entered the middle of the film not
knowing what had transpired earlier. Now if there’s a previous release then
it’s my bad.

However, Mijares allows San Jose’s work (that reminds
me of American artist Mark Beachum with dashes of Jim Steranko here and there)
in black and white to take center stage. He lets the art do all the talking. While
the amazingly detailed art is the star here, it sometimes feels disjointed.
Some panels are incredibly detailed while others looked rushed with some of the
rough pencils clearly evident as they were not erased. There are also some
panels where the proportion needs a little work.

My concerns aside, it doesn’t dampen my enthusiasm
one bit for Araknid. I love it and look forward to what I hope is a continuing
series.

Monday, September 1, 2014

My Big Bang Theory is when komik book talents were
showered upon these 7,000-plus islands, Joanah Tinio-Calingo and her husband
Melvin (otherwise known as ‘Taga-Ilog’) and artist Kilayman were not only
gifted with the wacky wit and storytelling chops of Keith Giffen but they were
also given an extra funny bone.

Kanto Inc. is the heir to Alamat’s Batch 72.

Kanto Inc. is a rollicking ride through what we love
in pop culture – Philippine mythology and the supernatural, mad cap science, comic/komik
books, and comedy; and it is a pleasure to read. Perhaps more importantly, it
leaves me chuckling in delight; a sure fire way to get me to re-read it and
recommend it to the world at large.

It tells the story of
Gwen, an over-achiever, and a Nuclear Physics graduate who ends up settling for
a job in a call center (a Pinoy Kitty Pryde). After a disastrous conversation
with a client over the phone, she gets fired from her job. She ends up being
employed by an eccentric millionaire who has a weird knack for hunting down
cursed objects and antiques.

And that’s where all the weird fun gets
started!

Gwen accidentally duplicates herself
when she looks into a mystical spoon (think Calvin and Hobbes’ awesome
transmogrifier). Gwen is possessed when playing a board game (a nod to the
early criticism levied at that once famous game Cluedo). And that’s just the
tip of the iceberg!

There are references and situations
that mirror The Ghostbusters and they even pre-date the return of the Sony
Walkman in Guardians of the Galaxy film by bringing back Nintendo’s much-loved
and Game and Watch.

What makes Kanto Inc. a terrific komik
is that the characters are memorable, the writing is fun and flowing, and the
art by Kilayman makes every page a delight for the senses. I love the facial
expressions of his characters evoke the best of Disney and manga.

Kanto Inc. is the ultimate chill out
komik in the local scene today. And best of all, it’s ongoing (five issues and
counting).

Interview with Melvin Calingo:

According to Melvin, “Kanto
Inc. is basically our take on Philippine mythology, pop culture, local customs,
beliefs and traditions. Note that I said "our" take because these
stories are very loosely based on our myths and legends. By doing this, we hope
to give a fresh new take on the subject.”

Rick: Are the characters based on
people you know?

Melvin: It's mostly a mish-mash of
extreme personalities from people we know. And yes, we know a lot of weird
people.

Rick: It looks like there are a lot of
pop culture references sprinkled all throughout from robots to Game and Watch
to Ghostbusters etc. Is this also a homage to what you enjoyed as a youngster?

Melvin: Yes, definitely. We also hope
that the people reading Kanto Inc. would recognize them and have that sense of
nostalgia that we all share. There's also a lot of recent pop culture tidbits for
the younger readers too. People may or may not get the references, but the ones
that do feel that the jokes are intended for them, making it more personal, and
thus funnier.

Rick: Where will Kanto Inc. lead? Is
this ongoing or is there an ending to the

story?

Melvin: From the start, we planned to
make Kanto Inc. episodic, meaning you can grab any issue and read it as a
stand-alone story with a definite beginning, middle and end, without actual
knowledge of previous issues. There will be issues of Kanto Inc. that will
delve into the actual storyline, but this would probably be sometime after we
establish the main characters of the story.